FORTY EIGHT

Never got around to taking a pic today and wandered around the living room dissatisfied with my options. So I came back to the computer sitting near this ugly-ass chair. Why do I have this chair? I'll have to get Andy to refresh my memory. It has something to do with Liz and Ling, one hated it, the other loved it, and somehow it became ours. -K

I make it a practice, generally, to not look at your pic for the day until I've taken mine. And many times that comes up with some nice surprises. Today, I hadn't taken my pic either and opened yours up. So this time I intentionally took a "matching" pic. I don't ever remember seeing that chair at your house, but it reminds me of that creepy clock that you used to have that kind of freaked you out as well, to the point you had to move it. Anyway, I was inspired to take a pic of my chair that I do love. When I bought this chair, I had a job for which I was ill suited but managed to do well anyway. Somedays, I would cry in the parking lot because I didn't want to get out of the car and go inside. About a year before I walked away from it completely, I managed to get some kind of monetary employee award for doing something "spectacular". It felt like ill gotten gains, and I wanted to spend it on something "frivilous" So I bought this chair. It was $350.00 dollars. It sits in my living room and no one ever sits in it really (it's not a comfortable chair) except for our friend Chris every time he comes over. Yet, everytime I look at it, I still love it. All these years later. And now I have a job, two in fact, that I do love. I think this chair is a reminder of what I like and what I don't. Of who I was and who I am. -R

I remember that job. You had my job, and David's job, and were very unhappily successful. It's a beautiful thing to know how you don't want to spend your life.

Three hundred and fifty dollars? Now I'm afraid to sit on it. -K

It's a very sturdy chair. So far it has survived three children and the bunny who was fond of chewing on it. The teeth marks just gave it character. Thirteen years later, I would still buy it again; I'm not so sure I can say that about any of my other furniture purchases from thirteen years ago. You know what, though, I think I have a few more chair pictures in my future. Chairs are interesting. Chairs are cool. Even your ugly-ass chair is kind of a conversation piece. The tongue is a little disturbing, though, if you ask me. -R

"It's not a tongue," Andy informed me. "This is the Norse god of wind." I've been working on a witty response to that for days. -K